Rain or Shine
by Darth Soror
Summary: Feelings are like the weather, but some feelings endure whether it's rain or shine. Izaya's feelings for Shinra seem to be the enduring type.


**Rain or Shine**

_A birthday gift for tumblr user raindropsandwarmsmiles. Doubles as something for Shinra's birthday since her birthday was April 1st and his is today, the 2nd~_

Izaya liked to think he knew Shinra quite well. He had been confusing for the informant at first, unlike other humans, but that did not make him impossible to figure out. With enough time and effort spent on the doctor, Izaya liked to think he'd gained understanding.

But putting in that much effort for one person meant forming a connection of one kind or another. Shinra knew that, to some degree, the informant was sure. However, it was more of a problem than he liked to admit. After all, regardless of how invested Shinra was, it was no doubt easier for him to feign friendship than romance when he was so thoroughly head over heels for someone who, in fact, had no head: the courier, the angel of death.

How fitting of her to be both of those things; essentially the courier of the message that Izaya would silently bear his affections and the death of any hope he might have had about the doctor. But what kind of person was Izaya to have such hopes anyway? No, as irony would have it, his hopes actually rested in Celty – the very thing that had crushed any hope in Shinra before it had a chance to grow. And those were different hopes entirely. Still, the seeds of hope Izaya might have placed in Shinra had never been dug up; simply stunted and choked and stopped from growing. Every so often, they would attempt to grow again.

It took a bit of sun and a bit of rain for things such as this to grow. So, whether by calculation or accident, Izaya happened to be near Shinra's place when a fairly unexpected rainstorm began. It was with a rather unabashed grin that he showed up at the doctor's door. The downpour was just beginning, but the sky was stormy and showed no signs of letting up soon.

Izaya held up a hand in greeting when the door was answered by his oldest friend. The informant's clothing was damp and the thunder left no question as to why. Izaya wouldn't put it entirely past Shinra to turn him away anyway, but he remained standing there, grinning anyway.

The doctor looked surprised. "Izaya..? What are you doing here?" he questioned.

"Coming here was the fastest way to get out of the storm. I hoped an old friend like you wouldn't mind~" the informant explained.

"So you showed up unannounced?" Shinra didn't look particularly pleased about this. Perhaps it was an intrusion on something he had planned with Celty, but Izaya was already here. Planned in advance or not, walking back out into the storm was not part of the informant's plan at this point.

"If the rain was one to show up announced at all times, this wouldn't be a problem," came the smooth retort.

The doctor let out a small sigh and seemed to resign himself, putting a small smile on his face as he stepped aside for Izaya to enter. "Maybe if you'd be more mindful and watch weather reports, you'd avoid this problem."

"If they could be trusted to give accurate information a higher percentage of the time, you might have a point," Izaya countered once more as he walked through the doorway. "But what's the point in lecturing me now? It's not as though this happens regularly, right?" There was a bit of a chuckle to his voice, which may have just been a convincing way of hiding his disappointment at this fact from even himself.

Another sigh from the doctor as he scratched the back of his head. "I guess you're right." His eyes then met the informant's, expression serious. "But I won't hesitate to send you out in the storm if you cause trouble."

The informant's hands went up as a show of his intention to be well-behaved. "The only way I can't guarantee a peaceful visit is if Shizu-chan shows up. I take it you're not expecting him."

"I wasn't expecting you either," Shinra answered with a playful smirk before continuing back into his home with a call of, "Celty, we have company!"

The dullahan didn't seem to have anticipated company – much less Izaya – just from the ring of the doorbell, it would seem; her body language indicated a bit of surprise. The informant was several strides behind Shinra, who was shown a message on Celty's phone. The answer of, "He got caught in the rain," made it easy enough for Izaya to get the gist of what she'd said.

Izaya took the steps left between him and the other two to find Celty's phone shoved in his direction next. "Why come here this late?" It was almost accusatory and the informant thought it was quite possible she assumed he was there for reasons concerning her. But, as important as she was to the plan he'd been trying to put in motion, that was not the case – not this time.

He gave a casual shrug as he replied, "It was the closest place I had a chance of being let in without much of a fight. Neither of you need bother yourselves with the idea of this being some special visit."

Celty didn't seem quite convinced of this, so it was with what looked like it might have been a sigh that she stood up and typed the message, "I'm going to bed." Shinra bid her a goodnight as she went, which then left the two of them standing in silence for a few moments. As per his usual demeanor, Izaya didn't look the least bit uncomfortable or tense, but appearing one way while being another was something he was skilled at.

Shinra was the one to break the seconds-long silence. "Well, I guess it _is_ getting late… And it sounds like it might rain all night, so unless you actually do have some reason for being here other than the rain, I suggest we follow Celty's example."

Izaya had known better than to expect anything particular from coming here, so it was with ease that he agreed to what his friend proposed. "Where will you have me sleep then?"

Shinra moved toward a doorway near the back of his home, pointing as he went. "I can roll out the spare futon in here."

"Ah, how convenient~" Izaya commented, following after the doctor to the room he was indicating. There wasn't much to the room, but that was to be expected of where a spare futon was kept.

Once they had both made it in, the door was shut behind them. The informant wondered if this was simply some habit of Shinra's, but as the doctor rolled out the futon, he spoke in a hushed voice – as if the walls and shut door were not enough insurance that they wouldn't be heard. "So why are you really here? I know you better than to believe this was by chance."

Izaya wouldn't crack though; he held his ground. "Honestly, Shinra, you overestimate me. Do you really think I could plan for weather like this?" he asked, a grin on his face.

"Frankly, I wouldn't put it past you," came the reply from where the doctor kneeled at the foot of the now spread out futon. "So?"

The informant shook his head, grin still on his face. "So it seems I can't even show up at a dear old friend's house without being suspected of something."

Having failed to get a satisfactory answer, Shinra sighed. Hearing the sound of Izaya disrobing, he reflexively looked up from the futon. Izaya caught glimpse of the questioning look and answered the unspoken question. "You left me with wet clothes; I didn't bring a spare outfit or pajamas, after all~ I didn't plan for this, remember? Unless you'd like to think I planned to look as though I didn't plan for this."

Izaya had only gotten his shirt and belt off, but still Shinra shook his head. "You could have waited for me to leave the room." He met other male's gaze easily regardless of his comment.

"I could have, but you seemed so insistent on staying here and asking questions that were already answered~" It was a smart-aleck remark, the snark of which was only emphasized by the informant's tone of voice.

"I may not be able to read your mind, but I know when there's more to the story you're telling. You showed up here, so why not tell me the reason?"

The informant scoffed. He thought about offering a chance to decline an answer, but he knew the doctor, and his persistence hadn't let up yet. "If you insist~" he said with a sigh, getting on the other male's level by kneeling in front of him on the futon. Their eyes locked for several seconds, the look in Izaya's eyes a final warning. If that wasn't enough to dissuade him, Shinra had no choice but to accept what was coming. And come it did – urgent, expressive lips on passive, surprised ones. It was concise, but expressed the informant's reasons better than words would be able to.

And then it was done and, once Shinra had collected his thoughts, a stoic response of, "I see. Well, goodnight," was uttered with the implication, Izaya figured, that he would most likely be going to sleep next to Celty. That was to be expected, but having taken a plunge as he just had, had an unexpected sting to it. So it was to the sounds of rain hitting the window and intermittent sounds of movement from the next room that Izaya made to fall asleep.

It was a half-sleep at best as he thought about the implication of his rash action – on himself if no one else. Was it his imagination or did he want it more now? Had those dormant seeds made to sprout in the rain? But even alone, with these thoughts running through his head, the informant would show no indication of what he felt.

He must have gotten at least an hour or so of solid sleep, however, for when he woke in the morning, the sun was shining bright. Fighting and ignoring any lingering feelings, Izaya got up, redressed, and exited the spare room. Only Shinra seemed to be around.

"Morning!" the doctor greeted, his voice unexpectedly cheerful.

"Just you this morning?" Izaya asked, a strange sort of grin – perhaps tinged with bitterness or cynicism – on his face.

"You and me," came the cheerful reply. "Celty had an errand to run."

"Someone's in a good mood~" the informant commented, his usual demeanor slipping more easily into place as he continued to converse.

"Mhmm~ A beautiful day like this will do it!" Shinra hummed. It certainly was a contrast to the night before, but last night was not something Izaya felt the need to bring up again. His friend's reaction had not been a direct rebuff; he had not seemed mad or repulsed; it had simply been his coming to an understanding and not reciprocating. There was no need to push the matter further.

"So, would you like breakfast?" Shinra's voice shook Izaya from his thoughts.

"I should be on my way. Plenty of business to attend to~" he answered. He thought it had been casual enough, but Shinra seemed to have had one of his moments of peculiar insight and understanding. It was unspoken, but the smile on his face was sympathetic in some way, as if he had sensed some wave of sadness from the informant.

"Well, alright. I guess I'll see you some other time!"

"Maybe you'll be the one dropping in on me next time," Izaya replied.

Shinra chuckled before responding. "We'll see about that."

And with that, Izaya was off into the sunny morning with the realization that no mattered what happened – come rain or come shine, he would love Shinra in his own twisted way.


End file.
